### Evart v Gerta Gente, LLC 2023 NY Slip Op 34579(U) January 5, 2023 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 101138/2022 Judge: Mary V. Rosado Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip

Op 30001 (U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New

York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication.INDEX NO. 101138/2022 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 29 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/05/2024

1 of 5 PRESENT: 

### SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY HON. MARY V. ROSADO PART Justice 33M



### · ····-···················· ·····----··-···· ··- · ·····-·· ······ ··- ·· X INDEX NO
. MOTION DATE MOTION SEQ. NO
. 10 1 13 8/2022 CLAUD I A EV AR T , Pl a i ntiff , • V
. G ERTA G E N TE , LLC. Defen d a nt.



### · · ·· · · · ·········· ······ ······-·-·-·-·-············ ··········· ··---X 02/ 02/2023 00 1 DECISION + ORDER ON MOTION

T h e f ollow i ng e • f il e d do cuments. l ist e d by NYSC E F documen t n umber (Motion 0 01 ) 9 , 10 , 1 1 , 12 , 1 3, 1 4 , 1 5 , 16 , 17 , 1 8, 19 , 2 0, 2 1, 22. 23, 24 , 25, 26, 27 were read on this mot i on to/for D I SM I SS Upon t he foregoing do cuments, and a l1 er o ral argument wh ich occurred on August 16, 2023 wi t h Jose A. Muniz , 

### F.sq . appe ar ing for Plainti ff Claud i a Evar t ( " P l aintiff ' ) and Scolt R
. D i nstc ll , Esq . appea r ing fo r Defendant Cer ta Gen tc, LLC rDcfcndant"), Defendant' s motio n seeking summa ry judgmen t in favor of , and dismissal of all claims agai n st Defendant, is granted. I. 

### Background ancl Procedural History T h i s action concerns a mo tor veh icl e accident allege d to have oc c urred o n March 23 , 20 15 (NYSCEF Doc. 6 at 

### 19) . Plaintiff: 

### pro se . commenc e d th is l awsuit by filing a Summons
w ith N otice wi t h t h e 

### New Yor k Coun t y Clerk's Office on December 5, 2022 (NYSC E F Doc. 12) . On December 23, 2022, P l aint iff served a Comp l a in t and Jury Demand on Defendant (NYSCF.F D oc. 15 ). Plain tiff' s Co m p l a int asserts t hat Defendant is an Tta lian Res taurant in New York City, owned and operated by Franco Lazzar i ("Lazza r i '') , Stafano T er ri ('T erz i ") and D an iel Kucera (" Kuc e ra ") (NYSCEF Doc . 6 at ~4 ). Pl ainti ff c l aims t hat on March 2 3 , 2 015 , a v e hicl e owned by Terz i and o p erat e d by Lazz a ri (the " Vehicle " ) , struck Plaintiff whi le Plaint i ff was l awl'ully 101138/2022 EVART, CLAUDIA vs. CERTA GENT E, LLC Motion No. 001 Page 1 of 5 

### [* 1]INDEX NO. 101138/2022 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 29 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/05/2024

2 of 5 wa lkin g up Pa rk Avenue in New York City (the "Accident" ) (NSYCEF l) oc. 6 at 

### , 1 9). Plaint i ff claim s t hat s h e was s tru ck by the Veh i cle " l s J o le ly by re ason of [ Lazzaril and lTer1/.i'sJ ncg,l igc n cc in the owners h ip , operation an d contro l" o f the Vehicle (NYSCEF Doc . 6 at • 1 2) . Plaintiff c l aims that l)cfcndan t is vicariously li ab le [or Plaintiff's alleged injurie s under a theory of negligent cntrusuncnt (NYSCEF Doc. 6 at~ 18) . Previously. on October 29 , 2015 , Plaintiff filed a separate lawsuit against l.a,,

_ .zari and Ter,;i in the Kew York County Supreme Court, captioned 

### Claudia Hvar1 v S,ejano Terzi and 1-i·anco La:zari. bearing Index ;,lumber 161123 ,'20 IS (the "Previous Action"') (NYSCF.F Doc. 23). Plaintitr s Compla int in the Previous Action asserted claims for negligence against Lazzari and T crzi for allegedly caus in g Plaintiff 's \-larch 23, 2015 Accident (NYSCEF Do c. 23 at 

### , 1 6). At an appearance before I I o n . James G. Clynes on July 1 4 , 2022, Plainti ff sett led the Previo us Act ion w ith Lazza ri and Tcr z i , ag reeing to a ccep t $250 , 000 . 00 in exchange l br extingu i s h ing her claims against t h em (NYSCEF Doc. 24) . On February 2 , 2023 Defendant commcncc - d the instant motion seeking an Order gran ting summary judgment in favor of Defendant and against Plaintiff , and dismissing all claims against Defendant on the groun d that the applicable statute of limitations expired prior to Plaintiff filing suit (NYSCF.F Doc. I 0). In support of its motion for summary judgment. Defendant filed an Affirmation in Support on February 2 , 2023 (NYSCEF Doc. 10). Plaintiff , 

### prose. filed an A ffim1ation in Opposition on April 20 . 2023 (NYSCF.F Doc. 19). Defendant filed a Reply Affirmation on Apri l 25, 2023 (NYSCE F Doc. 22). 1 On July 25. 2023 , .lose A. Muniz, Es q. filed
a No ti ce of Appcarnnce on behalf of Plaintiff (l\YSCEF Doc. 28).

1 11 is noted I ha! Pla ini iff li l cd a Sur

- Rep l y on Ju l y 3 , 2023 (NYSC EI' IJoc. 27) . T h e Pa,1 33 Ru l es stale lh a l " [n)o sur-rcpl y papers arc pcrrnillcd " and " [m ) a 1 cria ls subm ined i n vio la t ion o f i his rule will he d isrcgurdcd by t he Cou11 .'' Accordin g ! ) ', Plain ti frs Ju l y 3, 2 023 Sur-R eply w i ll not be considered. 1 01138/2022 EVART. CLAUD IA vs . CERT A GENTE, LL C Motion No. 001 Page 2 of 5 

### [* 2]INDEX NO. 101138/2022 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 29 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/05/2024

3 of 5 

### II. D iscu ss ion A. Plaintiffs Personal Injury Claims A!!ainst Defendant arc 13an:ed bv Res Judicata 

### In Kew York, res 

### j11dicara "bars successive litigation based upon the same transaction or ser i es of connec t ed transactions• · (Mauer of People of the Suue of New York, 

### by Fliot S pitzer , as A t torney Gen. v A pp l i ed Card Sys., inc. , 

### 1 1 N Y3d 105 , 122 [ 2008 ] . F ur t he r, "set tlem ent agreement s a r c enti tle d lo res j u d i

c ata effect" (Id. 

### a t 124 c iti n g Oly111 p ic Tow er Assocs v . N e w Yo r k, 

### 8 1 N Y2d 961 fl 9931). For 

### resj11dica 1 a to ap ply, the party against whom the doctr in e i s invoked must have been a party to the previous action, or in privil y with a party who was (Id. 

### at 122). The Court of Appeals has held that '·[gjenerally , to establish privily the com1cction between t he parties must be such that the interest of the nonparty can 

### be said to have been
r epr esent ed in t he pri o r p r oceeding" (Gree n v Santa Fe Industries . Inc., 

### 70 NY2d 244 [ 19 87j) . H

er

c , P la in t ifl's c la ims s t e m fr om t he s ame March 23, 20 1 5 /\ccid elll a s t hose in the Pre vious Ac tio n . Furthe r . Plaintiff ass en s in h is Compl ai nt th a t De f en da nt i s owned and opera t ed by Lazzar i and Terzi , t h e two defendants in the Pr evious Act ion. Accord in g ly, t he intere s ts of Defendant were represented 

### in the Previous Action. As such. the sculcment of the Previous Action is entitled to res judicata 

### precluding Plaintifl's from asserting the instant claims, which stem from t he same transaction al; 

### the previously sett led act ion , against Defendant, who is in priv it:y with t he de r e ndan ts in t he Previous A c ti o n. ll . Defend a nt' s Moti on fo r Summarv Jud g nient i s Grante d Summar y jud gment is a d ras tic re m edy , t o be g ranted only w here lhc m oving party h as ten dered s u nicient evidence to demons t rate t he absence of any material issues of fact. " 

### (Vega v Restani Const. Corp. , 

### 18 NY3d 499. 503 120121). The moving party ' s · ' burden is a heavy one and
on a motion for summary judgment , facts must be v iewed in the light most favorable to the non1 01 1 38 1 2022 EVA RT , CLAUDIA v s. CERTA GENTE , LL C Motion No, 001 Pa ge 3 of 5 

### [* 3]INDEX NO. 101138/2022 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 29 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/05/2024

4 of 5 

### moving party. " (.Jacobse n v New York City Health and 1/osps. Corp. , 

### 22 NY3d 824 , 8 33120141). Once thi s showing is made , the burden shifts to the party opposing the motion t o produce cvi<lentiary proof, in admiss i b le fo rm , suflicient to es tabli sh ihc exis ten ce of material issues of fact which require 

### a trial (see 

### e.g , Zuckerman 

### v City of

### New Yor k , 

### 49 l\Y2d 

### 557. 562 

### [1980J: Pemberton, . New York 

### City Tr. Auth. , 

### 304 AD2d 340 ,342 fl" Dept 

### 20031). Mere conclusions of law or fact arc insufficient to defeat a motion for summary judgment (see 

### Banco Popular North 

### Am. ,, Vic t ory 

### Taxi Mg t .. 

### Inc .. 1 

### NY3d 381 

### [2004 1) . Herc , th e reco rd es tab li shes that Defendant is i n privily wi t h La ;,.7.a ri and Tcrzi, as Lazza ri and T c rz i ar c tw o 

# or the th ree principal owners and operators of Defendant (NYSCEF Doc . 6 at 

### 1 [ 4) . Fur ther . Plai nti frs claim in thi s action stems fro m t he s ame Accident as t hat i n his Previous Action. As i t is we ll setl le<l that se ttl ement ag reements arc affo rd ed prcclu s i vc effect pur s uant to
resj 11dicata, 

### sc lt l ement of t he Previou s Action serve s l<) 

### h ar Plaintiffs c laims again s t Dcl"c11d a n1 in thi s case . As Plaintiff has faiJc.d to produce evidentia ry pro of , i n admissible form , sullicicnt io estab li sh the ex is tence of material issues of fact, Defendant' s motion for su mmary jud g m en t di s mi ssin g Pl a intiff's claims against ii i s granted . Accordingly . it i s hereby , ORDERED that Defendant Cena Genie , I.I.C's motion for summary judgment is grant ed, and PlaintifT Claudia Evart's Complaint and all claims against Defc ndam arc dismissed; and it is further ORDERED that within ten days or entry , eoUJ1scl for Defendant shall serve a copy of this Decision and Order on Plaintiff; and it is further

101138 /2022 EVART. CLAUD I A vs . CERTA GENTE , LLC Mo tion No
. 001 Pago4 of5 

### [* 4]INDEX NO. 101138/2022 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 29 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/05/2024

5 of 5 

### ORDF.RED Lhat th e C l erk of Lhc Court is di rected to enter judgment according l y. T

hi s cons t i Lutcs th e Decision and Order of the Court.

1 /5/ 2023 DATE CHECK ONE : x CASE OlSPOSEO a GRANTED

### □ DENIED APPUCATIOH : SETTLE ORDER CHECK fF APPAOPRfA T E : lNCLUOES TRAHSFERJREASSIGN

1011381 2022 E VART, CLAUDIA vs. CERTA GEN TE , L L C Motion N o. 001 

### /11~ V ;,, ,..,. J \. <.. HON. M XRY V. ROSADO, J .S.C. N ON-FINAL DISPOSITIO N GRANTED lN PART SVBMIT OflOER FIOUC1ARY APPOINTMENT

## □ OTHER

### □ REFERENCE

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